By Caitlin Thigpen
Major retailers are bracing for midnight openings during Black Friday, the most profitable sales day of the year.
On average, retail stores make about 20 percent of their total revenue during the holiday season. Big corporations are taking advantage of Black Friday, traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season, by extending the day.
“The more hype we create, the more sales we will have,” said Dorenda Portes. Portes is the human relations manager of Target in Rock Hill, S.C.
Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s have announced they will open at midnight on Black Friday. Wal-Mart has gone even further and pushed its opening to 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
Some customers and employees are speaking out against the early openings, complaining that employees are not getting the holiday time off they should.
“The holiday season isn’t about family any more; it’s all about sales. I think that’s really sad,” said Caroline Aycock, a 19-year-old USC student living in Columbia, S.C.
Stores hope the earlier openings will draw in customers with deals and extend the time they shop, creating more revenue.
However, those hopes may go unfulfilled. Only 29 percent of consumers reported plans to spend more than $500. In contrast, 32 percent of consumers said they would spend more than $500 last year, according to a survey held by BradsDeals.com, a leading nonprofit website that offers shopping advice and coupons.
The longer holiday hours have caused resentment from employees, and it could all be for a smaller profit.
Sales are only expected to increase 2.8 percent this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The average for past holiday season sales is 3.8 percent.
Some store managers remain optimistic.
“I’ve never been disappointed by sales on Black Friday,” said Temiko Griffin, the store manager of Best Buy in Rock Hill, S.C.
“In my experience, we always bring in more profit than we expect.”
Other stores’ managers are more cautious.
“People are scared and annoyed,“ said Jesse Fortune, manager of CVS.
“I’m not expecting an exaggerated profit on Black Friday.”
